CDA Launches Children Helpline For DOVVSU

Community Development Alliance (CDA), a non-governmental organization, has launched a children helpline, to help improve the work of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service in the Upper West Region. The helpline which is 0207007004, is expected to help the public to report issues on child abuse directly to the regional office of DOVVSU for prompt attention. It is also to encourage more people to report issues of child abuse to the police without any difficulty, especially people in remote areas who have no easy access to the Police. Mr Issifu Kanton, Chief Executive Officer of CDA, at the launch of the helpline in Wa, said many people fail to report child abuse cases because of the difficulties involved in getting the Police. He said it was based on this that CDA thought it wise to launch a children helpline that would make it easy for people to report such issues to DOVVSU to make follow ups. Mr Kanton said the Upper West Region was one of the regions with poor child protection system, and hoped that the line would add more value to the work of DOVVSU with respect to child rights abuse and protection. The helpline which is to be used on pilot basis, would see CDA providing GH₵40 credit monthly up to the end of 2014, to enable DOVVSU call back people who would have their lines dropped, because of credit, while trying to report child abuse cases. Detective Corporal Ali Katebo, a DOVVSU Criminal Investigator who received the helpline, thanked CDA for the gesture, and said it would have a great impact on their work. He said there was a provision in the Domestic Violence Act which stated that people could also report cases of abuse through phone calls. The helpline would make it possible for the public to report cases directly to the DOVVSU Unit in the region without any difficulty.